


Red lips / White skin

by JForward



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Coughing, Episode: s11e05 The Tsuranga Conundrum, Fainting, Gen, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Medical, Post-Episode: s11e05 The Tsuranga Conundrum, Whump, coughing up blood, internal bleeding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23762989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JForward/pseuds/JForward
Summary: Highkey shameless whump.Just after the end of The Tsuranga Conundrum (and I'm aware I'm writing this like two years after, just shh) the Doctor realises that maybe running around with destabilised organs wasn't a good idea.Thankfully the fam are there to catch her.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82





	Red lips / White skin

  
Eve Cicero was a hero. A hero who had deserved better, yes. Who had given her life, to save other lives, when what she deserved... was help. She shouldn't've had to die, but the Doctor mused, as she spoke the words, the strongest and the loudest in the room, perhaps. She felt each one. Always a beautiful thing, she had thought; the words. One of the most beautiful ways to send a soul off into the stars...   
"And all the journeys still to come," she held herself, arms steady, looking straight ahead. She thought of the TARDIS, waiting for her - hopefully - back on Seffulin. She thought of Eve, how peaceful she looked in sleep, passing away doing the thing that had given her the most joy. She thought of the tiny baby burbling away, and how proud she was of Ryan for convincing the Gifftan to be a dad.

She thought of the steadily increasing pain in her side, that hadn't eased off whilst she'd been running around after the Pting, that had filled her mouth with the taste of blood, and the worry that only adrenaline had been able to push back. Saving her friends was always more important than saving her friends. It made sense, of course, that her body was taking longer to heal than the humans - her organs infinitely more complex and delicate. She thought, with such pride, of her friends.  
She thought she was going to pass out.

"For now and evermore." her words seemed to ring in her ears. Definite greyness was starting to happen on the edge of her vision, and she really didn't want to alarm her friends, and honestly of all the times for her to lose consciousness the middle of a hospital ship would actually be a pretty good one! Considering they were at Resus One now, too, all they had to do was finish decontamination ... but the TARDIS was waiting. They had to get back there. And she still really, really hated hospitals. Despite everything, that smell of antiseptic she so despised persisted even this far into the future. It was mixing so unpleasantly with the taste of blood in the back of her mouth.

The tickle in the back of her throat was unbearable. People were moving now, soft conversation, and she coughed. She wasn't quite sure why there was a sudden, strange silence until she realised there was heat on chin. Another cough took over as she lifted her hand, covering her mouth - heat and moisture. Oh. Oh, something - not good. She swallowed hard, that taste of blood stronger, and looked at her hand. It was smeared with orange-tinted droplets. She wiped her chin with her coat, and realised it was much the same. And then someone was talking, a lot of people were talking and she wasn't quite sure why - Mabli's face swum in front of hers. It sounded like her words were underwater, not quite reaching the Doctor's brains properly.

"What?" she tried to ask, but it got caught in her throat. Coughs overpowered her, and the world pitched sideways. It felt like her left side had ignited, the skin was clearly ablaze, she wasn't sure - why nobody was putting the fire out. Another pitch and there were arms, supporting her, and she vaguely recognised that Ryan had her good side - Mabli was reaching out, but the world really was moving rapidly even with Ryan trying to keep her upright.  
Then the pain flared, her whole body ablaze and someone was screaming, it was a high and awful noise, who was making that?  
The choking mouthful of blood was the point where it cut off, and she finally realised through the haze that it was her, making the noise.

"Doctor!" who had said that? She couldn't tell. That pitching thing plus the way her vision had narrowed until she could only see right in front of her, it was overwhelming. The taste of blood was foul and acrid - there was a pressure, a surprisingly cool touch on her neck. Voices overlapping again, and now a baby crying, and she felt herself gasp in worry. She hated babies crying. It always twisted something in her hearts, some distant, but oh so potent memories. Why was everyone so worried about her? She was fine! 

And then there was a sharp sting against her neck and everything went black.

"She's not human," the Doctor's screaming had scared all of them, the way she'd suddenly started coughing up blood and slipping to the floor - Ryan had tried to support her, but when Yaz had taken her left side she'd made that noise, and Yaz didn't think she'd ever forget it. But it was her that managed the words when Mabli said something about a tranquilliser and had pressed a small, green dot against the Doctor's neck. She'd slumped a moment later, but the awful view of the blood dripping from those pale lips was still terrifying. Ryan was taking most of her weight.   
"It's okay, we ran you all through a basic bioscan when we couldn't find your meditags. Should be safe for her, two hearted species are rare but Resus One has files on them." she reassured. 

Ryan didn't like this. He still felt tired and a little sore, but it was clear that the Doctor was in a pretty bad state.   
"She's really hot." Yaz whispered, as she and Ryan carried the Doctor over to one of the spare beds. Mabli grabbed supplies but was there in a second, moving into medical mode as she focused. Resus One was equipped for this, they were just meant to tide people over, but -   
"All that running she did, she was still stabilising from the sonic mine injury, it's possible her organs destabilised again," Mabli chattered, and Yaz wasn't sure if it was to make them feel better - which really wasn't working - or because she wanted to focus. 

"We should have left you all under for longer," she said, shaking her head, "A little bit of movement is good, but we debated about it. Astos said that he thought you were all good to come around."  
"Oi, you don't sound particularly grateful considering the Doctor just saved all our lives!" Yaz's tone came out sharper than she meant, in the worry. Mabli actually had the grace not to respond, and focused instead on the Doctor.   
"Can you help me here?" she gestured, and Ryan moved, helping slide the Doctor's left coat sleeve off. Mabli slid the suspender off, then lifted up the Doctor's shirt - and all of them hissed. 

The Doctor's side was bruised, nasty patches and splotches, awful. It hit Yaz, just how much the Doctor had been hiding, even when she'd been having to physically hold herself together that entire time. How reticent she was, even in the admittedly short time they'd been together, with any bit of information about her life. The damage she'd taken that had never shown on her face. She'd been told, by Graham, how the Doctor had even smashed through the roof of a train and been fine! So to see that level of injury made her feel awful.   
"Can you stabilise her again?" she asked, throat tight. Judging by the look that Graham and Ryan had on heir faces, they were all wondering the same thing. 

"I should be able to, it's hard to tell how deep the damage is without my scanners and the Pting drained all the powers to the system. I have to guess, a little bit."   
"Guess?" Graham said, "She could die and you're guessing?" he exclaimed, and Mabli hesitated. Shooting him a deadly look, Yaz moved, taking Mabli's shoulder.  
"Astos believed in you, and so did the Doctor, Mabli. I trust you. Do what you have to." she whispered. Mabli looked buoyed.  
"We should be through the quarantine pretty soon." she said, gently, "All I have to do is stabilise her long enough to get her to Resus One."

"How long is that tranquillising agent going to last?" Graham asked, "Because the doc, she don't sit still for nobody."   
"It's supposed to knock a standard two-hearted person out for three hours," she said, "It has painkillers built in, too." she frowned, "But I don't think it's going to take her for long." she swallowed hard, and worked fast. Yaz lost track of the drugs that the medic used, at least four injections before she stopped. She picked out a small device, pressing what looked like a bluetooth earbud into her ear, pressing the disc to the Doctor's chest. With a shock, Yaz realised it was a space stethoscope. 

"Just listening to her lungs. There's still some blood but I think most of it's out of her system." Mabli sounded relieved as Yaz felt. "She'll be okay. Few more days of rest."  
"We ain't got a few more days, love. We have to get back to the TARDIS. Did the Doc not tell you how valuable it is?"  
"You have a choice." Mabli's tone was suddenly hard, "If you push her too hard, you won't manage to get back to your ship at all."   
Yaz smiled, a little impressed at Mabli's strength of will right there. But that worry was still laying heavily on her, too.

She let herself watch as the Doctor breathed, although she could hear it was just a little bit strained. Her face was pale and drawn, all the energy she'd been buzzing with this whole time absolutely gone. Yaz reached out and held her hand, stroking a thumb over the knuckle. She'd be fine. Mabli had promised that they'd be fine. 

Time slipped by. They weren't sure how long. Yaz was absolutely zoned out, exhaustion laying heavy on her, but - she couldn't take her eyes away from the Doctor. And then she breathed, a deep gasp, and Yaz jolted out of her chair and to her feet, looking into the Time Lord's face. Her eyelids flickered open, foggy hazel eyes. Already prepared, Yaz pressed onto the Doctor's shoulder, to stop her sitting up. Mabli appeared - she'd been checking over little baby Avocado Pear in the other room, but she'd clearly been alerted that the Doctor was awake.

"Okay, Doctor, stay still for me. Your ecto-spleen and a portion of your lung destabilised. We got you about as stabilised as I can right now, but you're still in danger -"  
"My ship -"   
"In an hour, we'll be allowed into Resus One," she said, quickly, "And then you can get a checkup then a teleport. Okay?" the Doctor nodded slowly and slumped back down, catching her breath.  
The hour seemed to drag, but Yaz, Ryan and Graham distracted the Doctor, keeping her focus on them instead of the pain in her side. She'd refused further painkillers, and Mabli hadn't pushed it. Yaz could hear just how laboured her breathing was.

When they were allowed to teleport, the Doctor needed Ryan and Yaz to prop her up just a little. She thanked Mabli, whispering something in the medic's ear that the humans didn't hear. Pulling away, there was a grin on her lips, a high flush in her cheeks as she wished them safe travel.  
The teleport was - a weird, tingly sensation, but not unpleasant, not really. The smell of hospital washed over them and for a moment, Yaz thought the Doctor was going to collapse again, but she kept her feet - stepping away from them. Yaz stayed close, but she was affecting her usual attitude. Onward teleport; already arranged for Seffulin. They wanted to check the Doctor over but she stoically refused, pressured until she flashed her psychic paper and they finally - finally - stepped onto a much more solid looking platform. It whirred and clicked and then the smell of the junk planet washed over them.

It took a long time, climbing; once or twice the Doctor's legs buckled. Yaz could've sworn she heard a cough, but she didn't spot any blood, even with her eyes sharply on the blonde haired woman's face. When an age had passed, they finally reached the blue doors. The Doctor paused, resting her head against the wood for a moment, the TARDIS humming softly.   
"Oh, my beautiful ghost monument... I'm so sorry I left you." the door clicked open, and Yaz stayed close as they stepped inside, the crystals coming alive as she looked around with a grin.

The fam couldn't help but watch as she walked, but Yaz was the most worried. Graham and Ryan just seemed mostly grateful to be in the TARDIS again rather than in flight, but she moved to the console. Her hands were ghosting across it, now pressing buttons and turning levers, Yaz didn't miss the way the Doctor was holding herself. Even if she was doing everything in her power to look fine ... but what could she say? The Doctor was too stubborn. So she just hovered, and hoped. Maybe one day she'd be willing to talk to them, properly...  
"So, fam. Where are we going?" fake-chipper.  
"To bed, I think." Graham murmured.  
"Yeah, I'm with Graham. I want a kip." Ryan agreed.   
The Doctor smiled, just a little.   
"Let's get you somewhere safe, then, old girl. And the humans can get some rest." she whispered, moving across the console, throwing the lever. The TARDIS wheezed. Graham and Ryan wobbled out of the room. 

Yaz didn't move. Her eyes were fixed on the Doctor, on the way she hunched just a little more.   
"Doctor ..." she murmured, moving over. She knew the blonde heard her, but chose against responding. "No matter what happens. We're here for you. I promise."  
"I know." she smiled just a touch. "Don't worry, I know. Go get some rest, Yaz."  
She hesitated, then turned, heading for her room, allowing herself to feel that exhaustion from the day.

Alone in the console room, the Doctor slid to the floor, wrapped her arms around herself, and let herself feel.


End file.
